Shoe press structure



Nov. 1 7, 194 2.

c. L HUNTOON SHOE PRESS STRUCTURE Filed May 17, 1941 r..- II IIIYIIII/IIII/IIIIIIIIIIIIII I u 1 III/Ill]. fIIIIIIII/IIIII/ ATTORNEY.

INVENTORQ': j CULLEN L. Hum-00w Patented Nov. 17, 1942 SHOE PRESS STRUCTURE Cullen L. Huntoon, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Landis Machine Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application May 17, 1941, Serial No. 393,881

8 Claims.

,The invention relates to shoe presses such as are generally used in cementing shoe soles or half soles to the shoe upper, and the invention consists in a pad to be applied to the sole of the shoe and the mounting of the same.

The main object of the invention is to distribute pressure substantially uniformly over a large area of the shoe sole during the cementing operation.

It is an additional object of the invention to obtain such distribution from a single pad notwithstanding substantial variations in the size or contour of the shoe sole applied thereto, extremes of which variations may be found in a ladys dress shoe and a man's Work shoe. Many intermediate variations may be met by the present invention where, with ordinary pads used for similar operations, ordinarily an assortment of sizes would be required to meet all requirements. The invention is particularly advantageous for use in a shoe repair shop where it would be inconvenient and unduly expensive for the operator to maintain an assortment of pads to meet different conditions encountered even though such an assortment might not be so hightly objectionable in a shoe factory.

Another object is to adapt such a pad for heating its sole contacting surface to more quickly set the cement used in aflixing the sole to the shoe.

' Another object is to facilitate replacement of the portions of the pads which may deteriorate from heat or wear,

These and other detail objects of the invention are attained by the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 illustrates a shoe press equipped with the subject matter of the present invention and showing a ladys shoe applied to the pad, the pad having the contour and position existing at the beginning of a pressure applying operation.

Figure 2 is a similar illustration with the pressure developed.

Figure 3 is similar to Figure 2 but shows the same parts applying pressure to the sole of a man's shoe;

Figure 4 is a bottom view of the pad.

Figures 5 and 6 are vertical transverse sections taken on the corresponding section lines of Figure 4.

The press illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 forms the subject matter of another application filed by the present inventor November 16, 1939, Se-

'necessary to the understanding of the present invention but reference is made to the drawing and specification of the above-mentioned application for the complete disclosure of this structure.

Tray 9 has a bottom wall Illand a side Wall H, the inner faces of which walls meet at substantially right angles except at the right hand end of the tray where the inner faces of these Walls merge in an arcuate or spherical-like surface l2 tangent to the normal flat faces of the walls It] and II.

Pad P has a plan contour corresponding to that of tray 9, but is wider than the inside width of the tray so that the pad must be distorted when inserted in the tray, and this establishes substantial friction between the pad side and the tray side wall ll due to the lateral thrust rial No. 304,675, now Patent No. 2,268,874, issued by the sides of the pad against the sides of the tray wall. There is clearance between the rear end of the pad and the rear wall of the tray and hence there is no restraint of the pad at this point by horizontal thrust as there is against the sides of the pad.

The top face of the pad is slightly concave transversely before the pad is inserted in the tray but the distortion due to the insertion renders the top face substantially flat transversely of th pad although there is longitudinal con cavity as shown in the drawing.

The bottom face of the pad includes a fiat ungulate rim I3, the side portions of which are inclined upwardly and rearwardly, as indicated in Figure 1, before pressure is applied to the pad. The pad bottom also includes a flat arcuate section l4 above which the shoe arch will be positioned. Vertical recesses l5 spaced transversely of this part of th pad accommodate transverse distortion of this portion of the pad and facilitate its insertion into the tray.

The pad bottom elements l3 and I4 surround a recessed portion l6, and inclined surfaces I! extend upwardly and inwardly from the inner edge of elements I 3 and M to surface It. The rear lower face of the pad isofiset above portion l4,

as indicated at l8, and extends rearwardly over tray wall II on which it rests to form a more nearly solid support for the shoe contacting portion I!) above elements l8.

If th pad is to be heated, a loop of electric resistance wire 2! is placed beneath the top surface of the pad and preferably the central portion of the pad, roughly defined by this loop, comprises a removable section 22 which may be formed of a synthetic rubber or rubber composition having properties differing from the remainder of the pad to better resist heating. The heating wire may be embedded in this section, making the central section and wire replaceable as a unit. It is to be understood the heating and removable features are not essential to the advantageous use of the other features of the pad.

If a ladys shoe is applied to the pad, and wheel 3 operated to draw links 6, yoke l, spike last 8 and the shoe downwardly, the downward thrust against the sole opposing portion of the pad tends first to buckle the bridge-like center portion of the pad to the shape shown in Figure 2, and the portion I4 is depressed, tilting the rear portion lB-IS of the pad upwardly away from wall H, as shown at X, and into contact with the shank part of the shoe sole. This tilting is facilitated by the absence of longitudinal thrust by the rear end of the pad against the rear wall of the tray. At the same time the existing original thrust by the sides of the pad against the tray side wall will prevent the upward tilting of the side portions of the pad and this will avoid the upward curving of the edges of the sole as would follow application of pressure through the last and sole against a pad supported along its bottom face and substantially free to distort laterally and upwardly at its sides corresponding to the desired upward distortion at the rear end of the pad.

The recessing of the under part of the pad and the shaping of its recessed under part provides more nearly uniform pressure throughout the area of the shoe applied to the pad than would exist with a pad of solid section. The frictional engagement of the pad-sides and tray wall ll support the pad above the bottom of the tray and accommodates the distortion of the pad as indicated. The transverse pressure on the sides of the pad holds the removable section securely in place.

The desired effective distribution of pressure follows whether the shoe sole is of comparatively small area and the shank at a substantial angle to the sole, as in a ladys shoe as shown in Figures l and 2, or whether the shoe sole is of comparatively large area and the shank at a relatively small angle to the sole, as in a man's shoe as shown in Figure 3. The concavity of the upper face of the pad provides engagement of the edge portion of the sole irrespective of its length, and the solid mass of the rear portion of the pad provides engagement of the shank portion of the sole irrespective of its angle to the sole.

Hence it will be seen that a single pad of the construction described makes possible the effecting of a satisfactory pressure throughout the sole and shank of a shoe irrespective of substantial variations in the size and shape of successive shoes applied to the pad, thereby avoiding the necessity of stocking a substantial assortment of pads to handle difierent shoes.

The detail structure described has been found efiective, but it will be understood that the exact details are not essential, particularly to effect some of the desired results, and the exclusive use of such modifications of the structure as come within the scope of th claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a shoe press pad, a unit of yielding material comprising a shoe sole opposing portion and a shoe shank opposing portion, the sole opposing portion being readily deformable vertically relative to the shank opposing portion to provide a variable relation between said portions and thereby accommodate shoes having different angles between sole and shank, the shank opposing portion having vertical recesses spaced apart transversely of the pad to facilitate de formation of the adjacent portion of the pad, parallel to its face, without substantially reducing the resistance of the pad, adjacent said recesses, to vertical deformation under pressure in the shoe press.

2. In a shoe press, a tray-like member of rigid material having a bottom wall and an upstanding side wall, a pad of deformable material mounted on said member and having a shoe sole-opposing portion spaced from said bottom wall and a shoe shank opposing portion extending over said side wall, the contacting portions of said supporting member and said pad providing for downward distortion of the front and sides of the sole opposing portion of the pad, positioned inwardly of said side wall, and resisting similar distortion of the shank opposing portion of the pad, extending over said side wall, whereby the yielding of the sole opposing portion of the pad under pressure will cause the rear shank opposing portion of the pad to pivot about its support on the member wall and tilt upwardly against the shoe shank irrespective of substantial fiow of the pad material.

3. A structure as described in claim 2 in which the shank opposing portion of the pad is substantially solid from top to bottom of the pad and the sole opposing portion of the pad has a substantial recess in its bottom, thereby facilitating the depression of the latter portion and the upward tilting of the former portion and enabling the pad to conform more closely to the shank of a high heel shoe.

4. A pad of rubber-like material for use in a press of the class described and having a portion of the shoe contacting surface formed by a renewable section retained in place by the friction between the same and the surrounding body of the pad.

5. A shoe press pad of the class described having a sole engaging body portion of rubber-like material and having a renewable section of rubber-like material for contacting the shoe sole, there being electrical resistance wires contained in said section for supplying heat to the surface of the pad.

6. A shoe press pad as described in claim 5 in which the renewable section and resistance wires are removable as a unit from the pad body to facilitate replacement.

'7. In a shoe press, a tray-like member of rigid material with upstanding sides, a shoe-engaging pad of rubber-like material seated in said member and distorted by its confinement between the member sides, there being a recess in said pad, and a shoe-engaging removable section of rubber-like material in said recess with its sides under pressure from the portions of said pad forming th sides of the recess. whereby said supported at its sides by the frictional contact of the same with said wall faces, said pad including a shoe shank opposing portion supported on the upwardly facing edge of the rear portion of said wall and substantially free of end thrust against the inner face of said rear portion so as to be readily tilted upwardly against a shoe shank thereabove by forces resulting from the distortion of the body of the pad by downward thrust thereon from a shoe sole applied to said sole-engaging portion.

CULLEN L. HUNTOON. 

